Red Circle (publishing)
Red Circle is the name used to refer to American publisher Martin Goodman's group of book and pulp magazine publishing corporations. Some of this group of corporations continued into Goodman's comic-book publishing arm, Timely Comics, "Timely Publications became the name under which Goodman first published a comic book line. He eventually created a number of companies to publish comics ... but Timely was the name by which Goodman's Golden Age comics were known." "Marvel wasn't always Marvel; in the early 1940s the company was known as Timely Comics, and some covers bore this shield." which would evolve by the 1960s into Marvel Comics. Official Marvel historian Les Daniels described the name Red Circle as "a halfhearted attempt to establish an identity for what was usually described loosely as 'the Goodman group' made when a new logo was adopted: a red disk surrounded by a black ring that bore the phrase 'A Red Circle Magazine.' But it appeared only intermittently, when someone remembered to put it on pulp magazine's cover.Daniels, Marvel: Five Fabulous Decades of the World's Greatest Comics, p. 21 However, pulp historian Richard Paul Hall gives Red Circle as the overall name for Goodman's pulp and book publishing company, noting that, "Goodman used the Red Circle Group logo between 1937 and 1939 to promote his line."Hall, associated text embedded at red_circle_logo.jpg Within this framework, historian Jess Nevins writes that, "Timely Publications how Goodman's group companies had become known; before this, it was known as 'Red Circle' because of the logo that Goodman had put on his pulp magazines...." History In 1931, Goodman, Louis Silberkleit, and Maurice Coyne formed Columbia Publications, one of the earliest publishers of pulp magazines, which Goodman left in 1932, and (with borrowed money) found his own companies including Western Fiction Publishing.Sources differ as to dates and facts surrounding these brief years. Ro (Tales to Astonish, above) writes with slightly different dates, ignoring "Columbia Publications", and talks instead of Goodman & Silberkleit forming "Western Fiction" (with emphasis added): :"Goodman worked for Independent News alongside future comics publishers and rivals John Goldwater and Louis Silberkleit and Frank Armer, who helped distribute Harry Donenfeld's Detective Comics. In 1932, Goodman and Silberkleit left Independent News, borrowed money, and formed Western Fiction Publishing... Two years after forming Western Fiction, however, Silberkleit left." Rik Offenberger (Borderline, above), writing about the formation of Archie Comics, includes "Columbia Publications" but "Western Fiction": :"In the early 1930s Louis Silberkleit, Martin Goodman, and Maurice Coyne started Columbia Publications. Martin Goo dman soon left that company and it was owned solely by Louis Silberkleit and Maurice Coyne. Columbia was one of the last pulp companies, putting out its last pulp in the late 50s..." In 1939 Silberkleit and Coyne joined John L. Goldwater to found what is now Archie Comics. Goodman's first publication was Western Supernovel Magazine, premiering May 1933. After the first issue he renamed it Complete Western Book Magazine, beginning with cover-date July 1933.Cottrill, Tim. Bookery's Guide to Pulps & Related Magazines 1888-1969. Bookery Press, 2005. pp 70,274. Magazines and paperback books As the market for pulp magazines waned, Goodman, in addition to comic books, transitioned to conventional magazines — published through a concern dubbed Magazine Management Company at least as far back as 1953Wakefield, Dan, New York in the 50s (Macmillan, 1999, ISBN 0-312-19935-X), quoting Bruce Jay Friedman: "I started with Magazine Management and stayed until 1963...." — and in 1949 founded Lion Books, a paperback line. Goodman used the name Red Circle Books for the first seven titles plus an additional two later. Most were novels, but there was a smattering of mostly sports-oriented nonfiction. Goodman eventually developed two lines, the 25¢ Lion and the 35¢ Lion Library. New American Library bought Lion in 1957, and several Lion titles were reprinted under its Signet label. Authors that Lion published included such notables as Robert Bloch, David Goodis and Jim Thompson. Related Goodman publishing concerns *Humorama (mid-1950s to mid-1960s) *Lion Books (1949–1957) *Magazine Management Company (c. 1953–1968) *Timely Comics/Atlas Comics/Marvel Comics (1939–present) Imprints Magazines Pulp *Atlas *Manvis *Red Circle Magazine *Timely Sports Magazine *Star Magazine Books *Lion Books **Lion Books **Lion Library *Red Circle Books Pulp magazines * Adventure Trails * All Baseball Stories * All Basketball Stories * All Football Stories * All Star Detective Stories * All Star Fiction / All Star Adventure Fiction /'' All Star Adventure Magazine'' * American Sky Devils * The Angel Detective * Best Detective * Best Love Magazine * Best Sports Magazine * Best Western / Best Western Novels * Big Baseball Stories * Big Book Sports * Big Sports Magazine * Children's Book Digest * Complete Adventure Magazine * Complete Detective * Complete Sports / Complete Sports Action Stories for Men * Complete War Novels * Complete Western Book Magazine * Cowboy Action Novels * Detective Mysteries * Detective Short Stories * Dynamic Science Stories * Five Western Novels * Gunsmoke Western * Justice (digest) * Ka-Zar / Ka-Zar the Great * Marvel Science Stories / Marvel Tales / Marvel Stories / Marvel Science Fiction * Modern Love * Modern Love Stories * Mystery Tales * Quick Trigger Western Novels Magazine * Ranch Love Stories * Real Confessions * Real Love * Real Mystery Magazine / Real Mystery * Real Sports * Romantic Short Stories * Secret Story * Six-Gun Western * Sky Devils * Sports Action * Sports Leaders Magazine * Sports Short Stories * Star Detective Magazine * Star Sports Magazine * 3-Book Western (digest) * Three Western Novels / Three Western Novels Magazine * Top-Notch Detective * Top-Notch Western * True Crime / True Crime Magazine * Two Daring Love Novels * Two-Gun Western Novels Magazine / Two-Gun Western / Two-Gun Western Novels / 2-Gun Western * Uncanny Stories * Uncanny Tales * War Stories Magazine * Western Fiction Magazine / Western Fiction Monthly / Western Fiction * Western Magazine (Digest) * Western Novelettes * Western Short Stories * Western Supernovel * Wild West Stories & Complete Novel Magazine * Wild Western Novels / Wild Western Novels Magazine References External links * Category:Articles created via the Article Wizard Category:Defunct publishing companies of the United States Category:Publishing companies established in 1932